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Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves . . . ensure justice for those being crushed. Proverbs 31:8

The mental image of a coach statutory raping a boy in a university shower has been branded into our national consciousness since 21 felony counts of alleged sexual abuse were brought against Jerry Sandusky.

Grand Jury findings that a Penn State assistant witnessed the atrocity and failed to stop it compounded by the fact that his reporting it to a revered head coach and others failed to protect other children from later abuse makes us mad, sad, and sick all at once.

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Happy New Year! Your dedication in 2011 has paved the way for our sure victory in 2012.

After holding our breath to see the outcomes of the fundraising and the Attorney General’s approval of our initiative, we have a sigh of relief. The Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE Act) petition launched on December 24th, just in time for Christmas!

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Cauley (from Journal Gazette)

This weekend, I was floored by a news article about a jury that acquitted a pimp because his teenage victim had a prior history of sexual exploitation (Miami girl’s beau/pimp acquitted of sex crime , Journal Gazette, Indiana, 7/29/11). It is absolutely appalling that the court accepted an argument that this young victim’s prior exploitation and abuse somehow meant that “she asked for it” or that “she deserved it.” Both the judge and the jury lacked an understanding of the victimology of domestic minor sex trafficking.

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On this July 4th, there is much to celebrate about. In addition to freedom from tyranny, the facts that I as a woman, an immigrant, and a person of color can have a terrific education and career, can drive, own property, and move about freely are among other reasons to celebrate.

The recent war and civil unrests in the Middle East are new reminders that freedom is not free. The 1776 Declaration of Independence that our Founding Fathers established requires continual sacrifice to defend and actualize. Here’s a bleak sample:

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Over 100,000 American children are trafficked for sex or “pimped” each and every year. The average age of entry is 12 to 14 years old according to Shared Hope International’s report.

These children are looking for a better life, a better home. Instead they are misled by pimps to sell their bodies and innocence to pedophiles and sick people in exchange for “love” and belonging.

Unfortunately, pop culture and music videos have made these pimps an American icon. In the past decade, the use of the word “pimp” as a verb to mean “to decorate or improve” has become popular thanks to MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” For instance, Vicki’s daughter was kidnapped and sold by a pimp who came from a wealthy family. He wanted to be a pimp, thinking it was “cool.” (Hear Vicki’s story and two survivors speak how their pimps lured them in our promo video on the CAS homepage.)

Today, I would like to propose this new definition for the word “pimp”…